The provisional view of independent valuer Andrew Caldwell, of BDO, is that
there would not have been anything left for shareholders had Northern Rock
had to pay back more than Â£25 billion Bank of England loans last year.

The number of people claiming jobseeker’s allowance rose by 20,800 in
September from a revised August figure to 1.63 million, according to the
Office for National Statistics (ONS). This is the lowest increase since May
last year.